Sahith Theegala and Aaron Rai pair up for 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

They join Masters champ Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry who will defend their title

 NEW ORLEANS, LA (April XX, 2025)—Sahith Theegala and Aaron Rai have teamed to play the 2025 Zurich Classic, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.

“It’s fun to see two players who both want to represent their respective sides in the Ryder Cup this fall team up.  Both are ranked in the top 30 in the world and have shown consistent, quality play for a few years, ” said Worthy. “Each has won on Tour and they should be a very strong team., ” Worthy added.

Newly crowded Masters champion Rory McIlroy, second in the world rankings and first in FedExCup points, has teamed again with Shame Lowry, ranked 15^th in the world, to defend their title in this year’s Zurich Classic. They will be joined by Collin Morikawa, fourth in both world ranking and FedExCup points, playing with Kurt Kitayama in the event April 24-27.

Theegala, currently ranked 27^th in the world, enjoyed his best season ever in 2024, finishing third in FedEx Cup standings. He recorded nine top-10s with two runner-up finishes.

He started the year fast with a second at The Sentry in Hawaii to open the 2024 season. He took fifth in the WM Phoenix Open, tied for sixth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and tied for ninth in The Players Championship. He closed out the year with a solo third in the Tour Championship, firing a 64 in the final round.

He broke through with his first title at the 2023 Fortinet Championship. In his first PGA Tour tournament in June 2020, he took 14^th in the Safeway Open and secured his card for the 2021-2022 season by finishing sixth in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. In 2023, he teamed with Justin Suh to tie for 23^rd in the Zurich Classic.

He and Wyndham Clark both qualified as rookies for the six guaranteed spots on the 2024 Presidents Cup team based on their FedExCup points during the year. He posted a record of 1-1-1 in the U.S. 18.5-11.5 victory over the International team at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Theegala was a three-time All-American at Pepperdine University. His collegiate career was cut short by the 2020 Covid-19 suspension of competition, when his team was ranked first in the U.S. In 2020 he was awarded the Haskins Award, the Ben Hogan Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award, only the fifth college player to win all three in the same year.

Aaron Rai, who hails from Wolverhampton, England, won last year’s Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour victory since joining the Tour in 2022. He also holds five international wins on his professional record.

He currently ranks 28^th in the world and rose to 20^th last year after a tie for fourth in the DP World Tour BMW Championship won by Billy Horschel.

He has posted four top-15 finishes so far this season. His best finish was a tie for fourth in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. He also tied for 11^th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

In addition to his title at the Wyndham Championship, he scored a total of six top-10 and 13 top-25 finishes during the 2024 season.

In the Zurich Classic, he has played with David Lipsky the last three years, with finishes of a tie for fourth, a tie for 13^th and a tie for 23^rd in 2024.

About Fore!Kids Foundation:

Since 1958, the Fore!Kids Foundation has raised money to fund children’s service organizations through golf events like the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and several charitable golf tournaments.

In 2024, the Fore!Kids Foundation generated a record $3.3 million in charitable giving for children’s charities in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. Charitable contributions have been rising in recent years:

• $3.3 million in 2024
• Over $22.9 Million to charities in last 10 years
• Over $51 Million to charities since inception